“Very well,” I reply unhappily. “But I’m going over it with Sarah first before I bring Tennant and Hollis into it. If anything, Sarah needs to be read into the situation, as it’s likely to become volatile.”
Marcus nods, but doesn’t say anything. Instead, he works on polishing off his breakfast before finishing the last of his coffee. He stands up and checks his watch with a sigh.
“Then I’ll let you do that while I check in with Ely. I don’t know what the Senator has planned, but maybe she’s heard something. Until he makes a move, we don’t have much direction.”
Wincing, I add, “You should ask Leandro if he’s found out anything. If you’re meeting up with Ely, you need to take someone with you. I don’t trust the situation right now. Everyone goes in pairs from here on out.”
Marcus scowls at me. Whether it’s because he’ll need to talk to Leandro, or making him take a partner, I’m not sure. I’d ask, but I’d prefer for it to not devolve into an argument right now. The majority of us currently don’t trust the kid, but the truth is, he’s still a damn genius, and as long as he starts being honest…well, we may have a chance.
“Fine, I’ll take Antonio. He’s the only one not on the injured list right now. Although, I think he has an appointment with a plastic surgeon at some point today.”
Marcus shrugs, as if he doesn’t care, but I know he does. He wouldn’t mention it otherwise. Whatever issue those two have, they’ll figure it out. If needed, Jude and I will exercise our authority to assist the situation…
“Alright. Behave. Both of you.” I stand up and reach over, yanking him down for a hard kiss. “I’ll check in with Sarah, and figure out where she wants to go with it. Then I plan to check on Carter. Hopefully, Roman will be willing to let others in to see him today. I’m not sure if I can keep Ignacio out much longer… I did have the cook send him pancakes to try and cheer him up.”
Marcus raises an eyebrow, but I merely shrug. I pay attention. Despite Lio’s severe avoidance of pancakes—which is understandable—I know Roman has a soft spot for them. I may have convinced the cook to send a few different varieties, and enough for Carter to have some as well. Someone has to watch out for him.
I take a moment to make sure I’m as put together as possible before following Marcus out. Every step to the medical wing feels like a million, the sense of foreboding growing with each one. Still, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Sarah will not only understand, but be able to explain it to Tennant and Hollis in a way that doesn’t make them homicidal.
Jesus. Now I’m the delusional one. The last thing we needed was the homicidal teddy bear falling for those two… Combustible is an understatement with all of them.
Thankfully, I don’t have to track Sarah down once I get into the medical wing. She’s frowning at something she’s reading, which concerns me. Walking up to her, I get her attention by tapping on her shoulder. She glances up at me and narrows her eyes, which almost has me backpedaling.
“Yes?” she asks sharply.
“I need to talk to you,” I murmur quietly, glancing around in case anyone can overhear. “Privately.”
Sighing, she tucks the folder under her arm and gestures for me to follow her into a small break room. I hadn’t noticed it before, so it’s either new, or they’re rearranging things again.
“What is it this time?” she asks warily, taking a seat on the small couch that's shoved against the wall.
She gestures toward the mini fridge, and knowing my sister, I get us both a bottle of water. I grab one of the chairs and drag it over to where I can sit across from her. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I try to figure out how to word this without pissing her off. Not to mention, while our relationship is better, I'm not exactly comfortable talking about anything sex-related with my damn sister.
“Alright,” I mutter, before taking a deep breath. “This is…awkward, but I promised Marcus I’d talk to you about it. He let Allesandro know about what happened with Lio. Obviously, Allesandro wants to help. There’s one thing I don’t doubt and that’s his love for Lio. However, his suggestion was…unorthodox.”
Sarah raises one of her perfectly manicured eyebrows at me when I stop short. Fuck. I shift uncomfortably in the seat, not wanting to talk kink with my sister. It must dawn on her what my issue is because she starts laughing. I scowl and fold myarms, waiting for her to stop. It takes way too long before she finally subsides.
“Are you done now?” I snap, my patience finally gone.
Breathing hard, she wipes at her eyes. “I’d apologize, but I needed that.”
“I’m glad one of us can find something to laugh about right now,” I grumble. At her scorching look, I cringe and put up my hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean you aren’t under a great deal of stress.”
Her lips press into a thin line and I keep my mouth shut, knowing it’s best not to rile her up further. With a sigh, she pinches the bridge of her nose, her manner so similar to mine at times that it makes my heart ache for the time we spent apart.
She drops her hand and straightens up, staring at me directly. “I’m not surprised Allesandro reached that conclusion. You weren’t with us when Lio was kidnapped by Peter. What he went through…the asshole did far more damage than Lio prefers to think about. Not only multiple rapes, but drugging him so that Lio thought he was an active participant—he was not.
“And he had another situation while escaping that affected him—a truck driver.
“I wasn’t overly familiar with Lio, aside from what I had heard. It wasn’t until after he came back to us—came back to Il Padrone—that I was introduced formally. In the beginning, it was difficult. He wouldn’t open up. Wouldn’t trust.
“He threw himself into hunting for answers. He…doesn’t do emotions well. I suspect, even before Allesandro, he was stunted in that area. Research made it clear he had no close friends, had never dated, etc. His only relationships have been with those in the Martelli Family, and now, branching out to the Amatos. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Not…really? I mean, that’s concerning…and the poor kid must have been in for a shock when he was introduced to the Family, and er…the Martelli way.”
Snorting, Sarah doesn’t disagree. Crossing her legs, she leans forward. “What I’m getting at is that Allesandro taught Lio a way to handle emotions. I’m not going to say it was right or wrong. To be honest, the one thing I can say for Allesandro is, aside from what happened with Lio that last time, he has never hurt any of his Boys out of anger. Not after he got out from under his father. The only explanation I have for what happened between them is that he must have been suffering from severe PTSD, something I did not catch.”
“You can’t put it on yourself,” I protest.
